Wow, it worked !! I tried making a 300mm length of floor stringer, used a layup of 3 layers of carbon, held down with clingfilm and a flat ceramic tile. A bit of persuation to get it out of the mould and some trimming and there it is ..well chuffed. The layers are not too well consolodated but should work ok

Did a bit more work on the gantry too. I bonded some lengths of tape up inside the tubes then layered these with more cloth onto the taped decks. Covered them in peel ply and plastic to hold in place. Bit messy, but should trim up ok

Many of the NZ Farr's use a rudder gantry to reduce steering sensitivity and to allow the rudder /tiller to be further back, enabling an aftsheeting bridle and to swing the extension forward during tacking. I want to try this along with boom sheeting to keep the cockpit completely clear.So today I had a go at building an MDF jig to support the gantry pieces whilst glueing. I also began cutting some tube sections that I acquired with the rig.

Will any of this make a real difference in performance.....I doubt it, will it be strong enough, who knows, but it's fun to try these things

Tonight I had a go at building a mold for cockpit floor stringers. I cut a section of PVC corrugated roofing, then nailed and taped it between two fixed bearers. I think I'll trial mold a short length to see if it works and get an idea of how many layers of carbon / glass to use.

Trimming the edge was a bit of a faff, would definitely be easier before the epoxy had completely hardened, but I couldn't stay up long enough last night !The matt finish under the peel ply is going to work well as a non slip I think, although it's a bit patchy so I'll have to do it again with another coat. Well pleased with the strength of the floor after all my doubts.

I cut some pieces of Peel ply, cut and laid the carbon cloth, then with Sarah's help epoxied it down, smoothing the peel ply over the surface. I tried to trim the edge before it all hardened, but this wasn't too successful so I'll have another go tomorrow

I'm getting fed up of being in such a cold shed. It's been nearly three weeks of frozen tools, epoxy like treacle and long drying times. I've made very little progress, and there's no way I'm going to be able to begin finishing work in these conditions - so we've decamped to the kitchen - thx Sarah!

It's even tighter here than the shed, couldn't cope with a boat another couple of inches longer, but it's so much warmer :)Cockpit floor foam filled, sanded and ready to sheath, but I'll wait for the hull to stabilise at a warmer temp first